The first day of playoff baseball was fun. We saw a couple close games and a couple blowouts. Now four teams are one win away from advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Conversely, four squads are one more loss away from beginning their offseason earlier than expected. Teams that win the first game of the series in the Wild Card round are 15-1 so everyone should be in desperation mode at this point. That just means better baseball for us.
Phillies at Braves (2:00 PM EDT)
Atlanta took the first game yesterday thanks to a late
three-run home run from third baseman Austin Riley. Former Athletic Jesus Luzardo pitched well for the Phillies while former A’s All-Star Matt Olson went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Atlanta won the NL East and showed why yesterday with a well-rounded win against their division rivals.
Now Philadelphia has their backs up against the wall and need a win to keep their season alive for at least one more day. They’ll ask left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (18-7, 2.91 ERA) to help keep their season alive for one more day. He’s arguably their best pitcher and as good as any option for them to turn to, The Braves meanwhile have mid-season acquisition Tyler Mahle (4-1, 1.99 ERA)* taking the ball for them today. Since his trade from San Francisco at the deadline Mahle has looked like a completely different pitcher, providing the Braves with ace-like production. Does that run out today in the playoffs against a tough opponent?
*with Atlanta, not counting his stats with the Giants.
Here’s how Atlanta stacks up:
And the Philles’ starting nine:
White Sox at Astros (5:00 PM EDT)
The bullpen game did not work out great for the Astros, predictably. Now they’re down in the series to the young and upstart White Sox who just won their first playoff game in five years. Houston will now turn back to their starting rotation and send their ace in right-hander Hunter Brown (6-4, 3.19 ERA) out there. Brown missed some time earlier in the year but he’s healthy now and looking strong. In fact, his last start was against the A’s in the final series of the season. He pitched into the sixth, allowing just one run on two hits and four walks. He’ll need to be sharper than that if Houston lives to see Thursday.
Chicago meanwhile has one of their top young arms going for them with a chance to send them to the next round. Right-hander Sean Burke (11-7, 3.34 ERA) is getting the ball this afternoon looking to make a name for himself on a larger stage here in the playoffs. He’s coming into this game on a roll: in his last three starts he’s allowed just two runs, walking six compared to 16 strikeouts in 16 1/3 frames.
Red Sox at Yankees (8:00 PM EDT)
New York won in convincing fashion last night, whooping their long-time rivals 9-0. They had everything going for them yesterday, from a dominant start from their likely Cy Young Award-winning starting pitcher, to their offense showing up even without their superstar leader in Aaron Judge. That’s put them one win away from not only moving on to the next round, but also knocking out their hated rivals and moving ahead in the all-time postseason series between these two (currently tied 3-3).
New York has their high-priced lefty on the mound in Max Fried (5-5, 2.80 ERA) tonight. This is exactly the game that Fried was signed to his massive deal for so pressure is high on him in this one. Boston meanwhile has former Athletic Sonny Gray (18-5, 2.72 ERA) going for them in this one and that should make them feel better. Gray has had a resurgent season and he’ll be getting some Cy Young votes himself this coming award season. He’ll also be going up against his former Yankee squad, and it’s known he did not enjoy his time in New York. This should be a good one.
Cubs at Padres (10:00 PM EDT)
We wrap the day back in California with the Padres looking to move onto the next round with one more win over the Cubs. San Diego pummeled Chicago last night, beating their NL Central foes 8-0. Like New York it was a well-rounded win as their offense provided 13 hits including three home runs. That was more than enough for Padres ace right-hander Michael King, who had a no-hitter going into the seventh.
Down but not out, Chicago will have a grizzled and playoff-tested veteran on the mound for them in Kevin Gausman (4-2, 4.83 ERA)*. This is the game that the Cubs acquired him for and they’ll be hoping to see the Gausman from last year’s playoffs with Toronto. San Diego meanwhile has righty Nick Pivetta (3-2, 2.86 ERA) going for them in this one. There’s never really been any doubt about his talent but moreso about his ability to stay healthy. Well, he’s healthy, and pitching well coming into this one. The Cubs offense needs to score some runs if they want to survive one more day.
*with Chicago, not counting his stats with the Blue Jays
What happens today? Do we see four eliminations? Or do all four teams that lost yesterday win today to set up an epic Thursday with four winner-take-all games? More likely somewhere in the middle but let’s all root for Game 3’s!
